(Posted November 7, 2011)

Alan Fletcher, a 1950 Juniata graduate, will speak at 7 p.m., Nov. 13 in Alumni Hall.
Alan Fletcher, a 1950 Juniata graduate, will speak at 7 p.m., Nov. 13 in Alumni Hall.

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Alan Fletcher, a retired writer and current science communications consultant, will talk at two lectures at Juniata College about how modern science created a revolution in agricultural crops.

Fletcher, a 1950 Juniata graduate, will speak on "Feeding a Hungry World: The Green Revolution and the Role of International Research Centers" at 7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 13, in Alumni Hall in the Brumbaugh Academic Center.

The next day, Fletcher will talk about "More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Rice" at noon, Monday, Nov. 14 in Neff Lecture Hall in the von Liebig Center for Science.

In addition, Fletcher will sit in on several biology classes during his stay. The writer retired as publications officer for the International Service for National Agricultural Research in the Netherlands and worked there from 1984 to 1991.

Fletcher's career has combined biology with writing and journalism. He edited the trade magazine The Aquarium for eight years before becoming senior science editor for Doubleday Publishing, Lippincott Publishing and Cornell University Press.

He entered the world of agricultural communication as head of publications at Cornell University from 1975 to 1978. He also has extensive experience in international agriculture. From 1979 to 1980, he was a visiting communication scientist at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines

After his time in the Philippines, he served as department head for the University of Georgia's Department of Agricultural Communication. He is the author of a number of books, including "Unusual Aquarium Fishes," "Fishes Dangerous to Man," "Fishes and Their Young," and "The Land and People of the Guianas.

Fletcher retired from the Dutch research service in 1991 and currently lives in Ithaca, N.Y.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.